Presentación de PowerPointHighlight: Key Past and Actual Public Funding Efforts NSF Grants
- The U. Utah aims to establish a materials platform through Majorana fermions
towards the development of practical topological quantum computing in order to avoid
decoherence +info
- Univ of Southern California (USC) investigates ways to overcome decoherence so
that fewer physical resources are needed to implement error-correcting protocols, to
allow significant quantum computations to be done on smaller devices.+ info
EC Grants
- In this sense, the Autonomous Univ. of Madrid (UAM) is exploring a topological
superconductor of Majorana fermion quasiparticles, which promises to open new
avenues towards decoherence-robust topological quantum computing.+ info
- The Univ. of Oxford is investigating the use of symmetry to prevent single-photon
decay while allowing two-photon and four-photon decay events, to provide a rich
physics to explore more complex quantum phenomena like entanglement stabilization
and the generation of decoherence-free subspaces. +info
ParityQC: Parity Constraints as a Quantum Computing Toolbox - FWF START program
(Austria). Study novel schemes for quantum computing based on parity variables and
constraints. +info
A new DARPA’s RFI on #QuantumComputing asks what new capabilities might enable for
understanding complex physical systems, improving AI & ML, and enhancing distributed
sensing +info
Wolf, Sr Researcher at Centrum Wiskunde
& Informatica and a Prof. at the Institute for
Logic, Language and Computation of the
Uni. of Amsterdam. +info
for Quantum Computation in the Clarendon
Laboratory of the University of Oxford. +info
CHALLENGE: Decoherence, caused by vibrations, temperature
fluctuations, electromagnetic waves and other interactions,
ultimately destroys the exotic quantum properties of the computer.
No existing hardware platform can maintain coherence and
provide the robust error correction required for large-scale
computation. A breakthrough is probably several years away. +
info
Futuristic Scenarios
Q-CTRL was founded in 2017 by Michael Biercuk, a professor of Quantum
Physics & Quantum Techn at the Univ. of Sydney and a chief investigator in the
Australian Research Council CoE for Engineered Quantum Systems, and PhD
in physics from Harvard. Q-CTRL raised $15M to work on
providing a set of tools that runs on quantum machines,
visualises noise and decoherence and then deploys
controls to “defeat” those errors . +info
An Artificial Neuron Implemented on an Actual
Quantum Processor +info
Source pic: Techcrunch
required to train machine learning models.
Skolkovo IST +info Univ. Sevilla +info
Jacob Biamonte Lucas Lamata
contemporary quantum computers are unlikely to return correct
answers for programs of even modest execution time.
Number of records in Quantum Computing Decoherence [1]
Public Funding awarded to in Quantum Computing Decoherence since 2010 [1]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/decoherence
To advance development of quantum processors and achieve quantum supremacy,
companies like Microsoft, Google, or IBM are active organizations researching how
to maintain coherence or develop algorithms that take into account decoherence.
Number of records in Quantum Computing Machine Learning [1]
Number of grants in Quantum Computing Machine Learning [2]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/Linknovate_QCML
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/Linknovate_GrantsQCML
Google’s qubit technology,
quantum simulation,
perform certain black box machine
learning tasks more efficiently;
Rigetti, D-Wave (Quadrant.ai) and
firms such as Volkswagen, Daimler
and Google stand out.
Social graph (grants): ETH Zurich in the center of 3 biggest networks [2]
One of EU H2020 flagships: HUMAN BRAIN is related +info
FET call (PROACT-02) launched in 2018 by EC to support this community
DARPA SyNAPSE Project in 2013-15, an attempt to build a new kind of computer
with similar form and function to the mammalian brain. Such artificial brains would
be used to build robots whose intelligence matches that of mice and cats. +info
Effort is continued by AFRL world’s largest neuromorphic digital synaptic
supercomputer, using IBM’s TrueNorth tech in 2018 +info
New DARPA solicitation for Microscale Biomimetic Robust AI Networks (Micro-
BRAIN) project in 2019 +info
Evolution of very small flying insects to improve AI:
• Reduced training times
• Improved computational efficiency
• Low power consumption
(UK) SpiNNaker project +info
Alexander Serb, Steve Furber
vv Other leading research org in EU: ETH Zurich (HC),
CEA (FR)
(TrueNorth) ,Qualcomm, Samsung, HP, SK Hynix
Research out of EU: U Michigan, Stanford U, U
Pittsburgh, MIT (Brain-on-chip) hardware
kingdom (low power, reduced learning), and seamless
integration with machines (ubiquitous communication,
“telepathy”, AR, “back up of memories”, and other
perceived super powers).
GOAL: Converting ultra-high performance, low-power neuro-inspired
systems into a reality. When energy is more important than complexity.
Computing poised for disruption and with higher impact. It’s
experiencing a bigger growth than the field in general.
Number of records in Neuromorphic Computing [1]
Number of records in Neuromorphic Computing Hardware [2]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/linknovate_neurom
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/neurom_hardware
[3] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/neurom_grants
Secret to Next-Gen AI +info
Intel, South Korean SK Hynix, IBM, Brainchip (US-AU based exclusively
dedicated company to neuromorphic computing) and other companies seem to
lead the activitiy in the field. In public funding IBM and U Zürich, U Manchester
(highlighted in front page), French CEA, and Italian CNR have attracted the
most grants.
<<NC could give unmanned aircraft or robotic ground systems a more refined
perception of the environment (…) Heavy batteries to power mobile devices,
sensors, radios and other electronic equipment. Air vehicles also have very
limited power budgets due to the impact of weight. >>
Gill Pratt, DARPA program manager
Most active organisations in Neuromorphic Computing [1]
Most active organisations in Neuromorphic Computing in terms of EU public funding [3]
Highlights: A costly neeed unsolved for decades
Harvard Business Review found that less than half of structured data is used
in decision making, and less than 1% of unstructured data is used in any
way, in IoT. Behind this underutilization of IoT data is a lack of
interoperability between systems.
In USA is estimated well over $26B of taxpayers’ money has been spent
since 2009 inducing hospitals and physicians to install electronic health
records (EHRs), many champions of the effort are dismayed that the EHRs
are not interoperable.
In 2017, EC sky-rocketed public funding to around 150M€ to directly or
indirectly tackle interoperability in IoT. In 2019 this number can be surpassed
with over 84M€ YTD.
The need for a solution for the siloed datasets that have built up at many
facilities.
Self-evolving intelligent algorithms are part of the new wave to aim one step
beyond.
Alahakoon, Professor in Business Analytics
at La Trobe University +info
There are already examples of big public
efforts, such as Big IoT EU project
coordinated by Siemens, with all roles of
an IoT ecosystem. +info
in IoT environments. +info
A big problem with no convincing technological solution found to
date. Interoperability is a big issue in most software and process
integrations… it is poised to be an even bigger problem with the
advent of IoT.
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/Interoperability_grants
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/Interoperability_IoT
An ontology that captures the semantics of the
imported data and present the BT SPARQL
Endpoint by means of a mapping between
SPARQL and SQL queries . +info
It is surprising to see USA below in terms of academic activity of most EU countries.
This changes when the industry (specialized news and patents are included in the
mix), but not for (primarily) forward-thinking references.
Most active organisations in Interoperability in IoT [2]
Top 10 Country breakdown [2]
Apart from manufacturers of so-called low-cost, interoperable IoT networks, the more
“future-oriented” work by the French CEA and Siemens AG, mainly via EU projects is
Public Funding taking off
DARPA has been considering this an important line of work. Latest update,
Jan 2019. +info
EC has been funded related research for assurance of UAS and safe autonomous
systems as early as 2011, with the key participation of AIRBUS in ENABLE S3
(64M€ in 2016), EC-SAFEMOBIL (6M€, 2011) and more recently in SAS - Safe
Autonomous Systems (4M€, 2018), a big consortium with CNRS, Fraunhofer,
Stichting, Jaguar, Bosch and Lloyd’s Register. +info
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in UK has a
grant programme focused on deliver the step changes in Robotics and
Autonomous Systems (RAS) capability that are necessary to overcome crucial
challenges facing the nuclear industry in the coming decades +info and also a
grant to deliver a step change in the understanding and predictability of next
generation cooling systems +info
info; Ladan Tahvildari, professor Univ. Waterloo
+ info, and Sandeep Neema, program manager
at DARPA + info.
Daniel Schneider in Fraunhofer IESE and active
teams (EU projects) in Fraunhofer ESK and IGD
GOAL: The goal of the Assured Autonomy field is to create
technology for continual assurance of Learning-Enabled, Cyber
Physical Systems and Autonomous Systems in general.
Futuristic Scenarios
systems are setting the foundations for future UAS and
swarm robotics . +info
Adaptive Assurance of
autonomous systems The number of documents in this field has grown, especially
recently.
Number of records in Adaptive Assurance of Autonomous Systems [1]
Number of grants in Adaptive Assurance of Autonomous Systems [2]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/LNK_AdaptiveAssurance
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/AdaptiveAssurance_grants
Even though the niche topic of defense-grade readiness of assurance in autonomous systems is a new emerging concept, public funding has been channeled to the foundations of the topic in related categories such as: • Safe Autonomous Systems Operations in aerospace: adaptive trajectory-based
operations, autonomous tugs, close parallel runways, dynamic separation assurance • Contextual Anomaly Management Interface (CAMI) for Autonomous Systems • Bias and Trust in AI systems (trust-onomy) • Human/Autonomous-system interaction and collaboration • Testing robustness in UAS.
Most active organisations in Adaptive Assurance of Autonomous Systems [1]
Active key-players in terms of public funding (grants): [2]
Dial-a-Molecule network (established in 2010 as one of EPSRC’s “Physical
Science Grand Challenges”).Funding on molecular robotics. +info
Organic synthesis in a modular robotic system driven by a chemical programming
language lead by Univ Glasgow, it is a new emerging field in a neighbouring field
to 3D printing molecules and reactionware, and molecular robots.+info
The face of promising research:
Lee Cronin, professor of Chemistry at Univ.
of Glasgow, and Mimi Hii, professor of
Chemistry at Imperial College London and
co-leader of the Dial-a-Molecule Network
Other leading research:
very brief) and Imperial College in
LondonAll collaborators of “central node”
Univ Glasgow’s Cronin Lab.
Futuristic Scenarios
from a molecular level upwards, according to BAE
Systems research. Promises app-controlled revolution
for drug production. +info
It is machines (microreactors, actually) for making specific drugs that
are printed, not the drugs themselves.
Printing reactionware 3d printing reactionware or 3d printing in chemical synthesis are
niche topics, but broader than chemputing which is clearly led by an
academic institution and a nascent topic.
3D PRINTING REACTIONWARE AND
MOLECULES
“All it requires is a $2,000 3D printer and a drug
specification (the manufacturing processes
required to produce it)”.
Public funding shows UK (legend showed as “national”) is ahead and leading the
topic also in this broader sense (not limited to Chemputing specifically.
Most active organisations in 3D Printing Reactionware
Evolution of Public Funding
Highlights: Public Policy in the spotlight
In April of 2019, the High-Level Expert Group on AI from the EC presented Ethics
Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, a set of 7 key requirements that AI
systems should meet in order to be deemed trustworthy. +info
The EC has funded several projects that explore the responsible development of AI:
- HUMANE AI will develop the scientific foundations and technological
breakthroughs to shape the ongoing AI revolution in a way that enhancen human
capabilities and empowers both individuals and society as a whole. +info
- SHERPA Project will investigate, analyse and synthesise understanding of ways
in which smart information systems impact ethics and human rights issues. +info
- AI4EU project will establish a Ethical Observatory will to ensure the respect of
human centred AI values and European regulations. +info
- PAPAYA will develop a platform for privacy preserving data analytics that will
consider compliance with the GDPR as a key enabler to minimize the privacy
risks while increasing trust in third-party data processors. +info
- The SODA project will enable practical privacy-preserving analytics of information
from multiple data assets using multi-party computation techniques. For this data
does not need to be shared, only made available for encrypted processing. +info
- PROMETHEUS project enables users privacy in the post-quantum world by
providing a toolbox of quantum-secure cryptographic techniques adapted to
modern services. It will provide new building blocks in relation with international
competitions and standardisation processes. +info
The Georgia Institute of Technology has received a grant from the NSF to carry out
the Privacy Project, which is developing algorithms, systems and tools that provide
end-to-end privacy guarantees over the life cycle of a data analytic job. The ultimate
goal is to develop a methodical framework and a suite of techniques for ensuring
distributed computations to meet the desired privacy requirements of input data, as
well as protecting against disclosure of sensitive patterns during execution and in the
final output of the computation. +info
The face of promising research: Virginia Dignum,
prof. of social and ethical AI at Uni. of Umea. +info
Yoshua Bengio, scientific director of the Montreal
Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA). +info
Trustworthy AI should be lawful, respecting all applicable
laws and regulations, ethical, respecting ethical principles
and values, and robust, both from a technical perspective
while taking into account its social environment.
Futuristic Scenarios
on the promise of artificial general intelligence. +info
Privacy-enhancing technologies and trust-first business
models promise to unleash the next wave of tech
Innovation, according to the WEF. +info
Anonymized data offers privacy, reduces the risk of data
breaches, and lets enterprises ethically derive insights and
profit from personal data. Anonymous analytics offers the
advantages of analytics over data usage without the drawback
(privacy loss, security, and others). Approaches are expected
to go beyond k-anonymity and privacy by design current lines.
Bhavani Thuraisingham, Director of the Cyber
Security Research and Education Institute at the
University of Texas at Dallas +info
Shouling Ji, Zhejiang University & Gatech, and
Weiqing Li and Raheem Beyah also in Gatech +info
Number of records in Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence [1]
Public Funding awarded to in Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence since 2010 [1]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/trustworthyartificial
Number of records in Anonymous Analytics [1]
Public Funding awarded to in Anonymous Analytics since 2010 [1]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/AnonymousAnalytics
Although 63% of the organizations
active in Anonymous Analytics belong
to Academia (are Universities and
Research Centers), top 10
organizations are mainly telecom
making the most of their users’ data
while complying with maintaining users’
The Uni. of Leeds has received €6.60M for a Terabit Bidirectional Multi-user Optical
Wireless System (TOWS) for 6G LiFi. It will provide a technically logical pathway to
ensure that wireless systems are future-proof and that they can deliver the
capacities that future data intensive services will demand. +info
The NSF has granted $0.9M to Carnegie Mellon Uni. to develop a first-of-its-kind
mmWave multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) capable network testbed comprising
base stations and mobile user modules spanning indoor and outdoor spaces. +info
For its part, the EC has granted several projects on the topic, standing out:
• WAVECOMBE Project (2.88M€) is a research approach that combines the three
disruptive key enabling technologies for 5G/B5G with the aim to answer
fundamental questions that are still not well understood. +info
The face of promising research:
Mischa Dohler, Prof. in Wireless Communications
at King’s College London. +info
Jaafar Elmirghani, Prof. of Communication
Networks and Systems at the Uni. of Leeds. +info
5G will likely be the last G in the form as we know it, since
telecoms (and, specifically, the 3GPP) architecture is being
atomized.
Futuristic Scenarios
With ambitions to accelerate the joint development between the EU and the US on
EMPOWER Project (2M€) advanced wireless platforms targeting the new connectivity
frontiers beyond 5G. It will provide instruments for inducing collaboration between
ongoing and forthcoming 5G and beyond initiatives targeting at wireless networks
experimentation on both ends of the Atlantic. +info
Source: Project Empower (H2020) under GA No 824994
Beyond 5G
hardware Beyond 5G activity has skyrocketed in 2019, mostly due to the
appearance of the topic in the (digital) media.
Number of records in Beyond 5G [1]
Public funding awarded to Beyond 5G (since 2010) [1]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/zeropower
Top active organizations in Beyond 5G [1]
Most active countries in Beyond 5G [1]
Telecoms and universities are collaborating together for the advancement of this
Highlights: Public Funding analysis, key to understand the field
The Open+ program in Arpa-E will grant a total $98M in 40 projects in different
fields. The “data-driven grid” cohort, with 4 projects and $12M, has already been
awarded.
Industrial activity leaders in the field have a more applied perspective, with
developments in industrial IoT and IIoT Edge to cloud ML. When it comes to
public funding, Purdue Univ, State Univ of NY at Buffalo, and Univ. Bath have
attracted the most number of grants, in more FET-like areas such as distributed
optimization algorithms and distributed fog computing.
Swiss funded by future-thinking program “NCCR Digital Fabrication” by agency
SNSF. Through a multidisciplinary approach a partnership is created to establish
digital technology as an essential part of future building processes. Switzerland
program considers the benefits of digital construction evident:
- efficient use of production resources
- material-specific concepts and durability, thanks to the seamless integration of
design and fabrication
Social Need: The demand for air conditioning in homes and work spaces is
increasing. New and more efficient cooling methods are needed to reduce building
energy consumption and environmental impact.
The face of promising research: Gesualdo
Scutari, Assoc Prof in Purdue School of
Engineering +info Zhenyu Huang, from the
Advanced Grid Analytics portfolio at Pacific
Northwest National Lab +info
ML data-driven solutions will unlock penetration and compromise testing on
each pipeline. Applications may aim cyber-security resilience, and
developing simpler and more secure “Grid Data Exchanges” for sharing
cyber-sensitive electric grid operations data, such as the work by GridBright
supported by Arpa-E +info
After receiving a $3M federal grant from ARPA-E in 2015, a team at the
Univ. of Colorado Boulder developed a new metamaterial film that provides
cooling without needing a
power input. Made
out of glass microspheres, polymer and silver, the material uses passive
radiative cooling to
and resilience while substantially reducing system costs and barriers to
fully integrated emerging technologies.
Although the net zero concept is applicable to a wide range of resources such
as energy, water and waste, energy is usually the first resource to be targeted:
- highly insulating spray-foam insulation, high-efficiency solar panels, high-
efficiency heat pumps, highly insulating low-E triple-glazed windows.
Zero-energy buildings (ZENB) is usually tied to smart grid and concepts such as
integration of renewable energy resources, integration of plug-in electric
vehicles (vehicle-to-grid), and implementation of zero-energy concepts.
Igor Sartori, SINTEF (Norway), Senior Researcher in
Architectural Engineering +info
Arild Gustavsen, Director of Research Centre on Zero
Emission Neighbourhoods (ZEN) in Smart Cities ´info
2018 and is expected to continue increasing.
EC has been very active in the space, although with a more short-
term obstacle-solving approach for cost reduction and viability for
NZEB, not so much for radically new technologies.
Number of records in Machine Learning applied to Smart Grids [1]
Deep reinforcement and Deep reinforcement learning references over time. [2]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/SmartGrid_ML
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/SmartGrid_DL
Google’s research in collaboration with Columbia University focuses on optimizing NY’s city power grid
with ML applied to predictive maintenance. As fir Purdue University, the organization with more grants on
the topic, they are focusing on real-time prediction of the system behavior and on fog computing.
Number of records in Net-Zero Buildings
Public Funding awarded in self-healing and self-healing batteries (grants) [1]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/netzerobuils
NZEB from completely different angles:
- Cornell University – $3M.
- AlsoCornell University – $1,5M. Indoor
Backscattering. An occupant monitoring
frequency identification (RFID) readers
occupants to wear tags, the tags, as
coordinated landmarks. The system will
employ efficient biomechanical models and
inverse imaging algorithms to estimate the
size, posture, and motion of the collected
geometry and distinguish people from
furniture and pets. Occupancy data is then
sent to the building control system.
Multinationals present in the HVAC field interfacing with “smart buildings” such as Schneider Electric,
Siemens, Johnsons Control, Daikin and GE appear at the top of specialized news activity. However a
closer look filtering out “market research reports” shows the following ranking:
Some of the most relevant grants and projects in the field are the ones funded by Arpa-E agency (DOE,
USA) in the last 5-10 years:
- 3M Company (St. Paul, MN). Passive Radiative Cooling Film – $2,8M. 3M develops a film that passively
radiates heat away from a building’s surface for cooling. Using a unique, weather resistant polymer
composition. This film builds upon radiative cooling. Tech developed in prior ARPA-E awards to Stanford
Univ. and SkyCool Systems.
- MIT (Cambridge, MA). CARBONHOUSE: Towards a Carbon Ontology - Ultra Low Footprint Buildings
Using Gas-Pyrolysis Hydrocarbons – $3,7M. Polymeric composites are an alternative material. The
project looks to use hydrocarbon-derived composites to create minimal footprint habitation.
Technologies that will develop new energy-efficient processing technologies
for industrial (particularly oil and gas) and municipal wastewater. +info
Achieving cost-efficient energy-positive models by:
- The use of bacterial processes and advanced control solutions
- The use of industrial waste heat to extract clean water from wastewater
- Eutectic freeze crystallization to separate salts from contaminated water
(more pre-FET)
+info
of Technology +info
Mark van Loosdrecht has been named the 2018
Stockholm Water Prize Laureates for
revolutionizing water and wastewater treatment
with Bruce Rittmann. +info
that are currently too energy intensive to be treated,
could be commercially decomposed into valuable
materials when using Eutectic Freeze Crystallization
(EFC) technology. The separation burden will be
changed into a blessing by producing raw materials
from waste streams by spending less energy. +info
These technologies include, but are not limited to: anaerobic
treatment, high-rate activated sludge units, chemically enhanced
primary treatment, aerobic granular sludge systems, shortcut
nitrogen removal processes, waste heat recovery, and eutectic
freeze crystallization.
Public Funding awarded to Energy-Water Treatment since 2010 [1]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/EntergyWater
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/EWT_bacterial
[3] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/EWT_WasteHeat
Academia leads the activity in bacterial and autotrophic processes for energy-
efficient wastewater treatments, while companies are the ones leading the waste-
heat recovery processes.
Most active organizations in Energy-Water Treatments with bacterial processes [2]
Most active organizations in Energy-Water Treatments with waste heat [3]
Major developments in the Netherlands
WitteveenBos, Eliquo and Topec are dutch
companies that are applying energy-water
technologies for wastewater treatment towards a
circular economy.
As for the academic side, TU Delft has set up
The Water Management Department to improve
the urban water cycle and make the most of
water resources.
The scandinavian Top-level Research Initiative (TRI), set two programs
(back in mid 2010s) to explore arctic climate change that altogether fund six
Nordic Centers of Excellence (NCoE). Each of them focuses on a specific
challenge, like the preservation of the tundra, nordic marine ecosystems,
and the arctic land ice; or the study of cyosphere-atmsophere interactions.
+info
The University of Lapland has received € 0,92M from the Academy of Finland to
study both historical sites as a tool for predicting long-term ecosystem change
and the impact of southern ocean interactions on marine ice sheet stability. +info
The EC has recently funded ARCTICO (€95K) and APPLICATE (€8,72M)
Projects to understand the magnitude of arctic climate change and to enhance
arctic climate change weather predictions.
The face of promising research:
Bruce Forbes, Prof. of Global Change at the
University of Lapland +info
Wegener Institute +info
Other promising initiatives:
awareness on arctic climate change. +info
Futuristic Scenarios
Build walls on seafloor to stop glaciers melting
Building walls on the seafloor may become the next frontier of
climate science, as engineers seek novel ways to hold back
the sea level rises predicted to result from global warming.
+info
conservation and future of life and biological diversity on Earth.
2018, and is expected to continue growing in 2019.
When it comes to public funding, the EC has funded only 5 projects
since 2010, but for a total amount of €24M. Contrarily, the USA has
funded 53 projects for $20.5M.
Number of records in Arctic Climate Change [1]
Public Funding awarded to Arctic Climate Change since 2010 [1]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/ArticClimateChange
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/ArticClimateChange_grants
Most active organizations researching Arctic Climate Change also are the ones
obtaining more public funding. It is an eminently academic topic since, out of the top
10 organizations in both rankings, 6 are Universities and 4 are Research Institutes.
Most active organizations in Arctic Climate Change[1]
Active key-players in terms of public funding (grants) [2]
Stopping the flood: could we use targeted
geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise?
The Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) is a dynamic
feedback that can cause an ice sheet to enter a
runaway collapse. Thwaites Glacier (West Antarctica)
is projected to be the largest individual source of
future sea level rise and may have already entered
MISI. A suite of coupled quasi-2-D ice–ocean
simulations are researched to explore whether
targeted geoengineering could counter a collapse. +
Agriculture, forestry, and other land uses emit 24% of greenhouse gases
globally +info
1 ha of algae ponds can generate 27 times as much protein as 1 ha of
soybeans.
Algae thrive in dry, warm areas not-suitable for conventional agriculture.
U.S. DoE has awarded Duke Uni. $5,2M to lead Marine Algae
Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC), including the University of Hawaii at
Hulu, Cornell University, Cellana and others to devise a negative-emissions
technology (ABECCS - algae bioenergy with carbon capture and storage)
that produces electricity and provides protein while simultaneously removing
carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere and reducing deforestation. +info
Pond Technologies develops algae bioreactors for factories that grow algae
that remove CO2 emissions and transform them into food products
(spirulina) +info
Thomas Brück, Synthetic Biotech Prof. at TU
Munich +info
Biology in Marine Science at Duke University +info
Other promising research:
and carbon move around the oceans and how they
impact biological production. They have teamed up
with PAGES project, to research how Earth and the
oceans have responded to past climate change.
Futuristic Scenarios
TU Munich has developed a process in which the grow
algae to produce algae oil, and then turn it into carbon
fibers. +info
Growing algae farms with CO2 captured from factories’ emissions and
the atmosphere. Resulting algae will serve as an alternative source of
protein for humans and animals, and/or biofuel. All with a
“byproduct””: reducing crops lands, deforestation, and CO2
Change Although R&D using algae for combating Climate Change has
dramatically increased in the last two years, the same trend is not
mirrored in public funding open calls and projects.
Number of records in Algae Against Climate Change
Public Funding awarded to Algae Against Climate Change
Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/AlgaeClimateChange
Most active organizations and research focus on growing algae ponds to produce
biofuels. Recent trends explore turning algae into an alternative source of protein
(spirulina) or materials (carbon fiber).
Most active organizations in Algae Against Climate Change
Innovation trends and subtopics in Algae Against Climate Change
Harmful Algal Blooms: Red & Brown Tides
Eutrophication (overabundance of nutrients in water) can fuel the
excessive growth of phytoplankton and algae. Harmful algal
blooms can kill fish, marine mammals and seabirds and harm
humans. And when the algae and other organisms that had been
allowed to bloom because of the nutrient excess eventually die
off, bacteria may suck up all the oxygen from the water as the
algae decompose.
This hypoxia creates a “dead zone” where fish cannot live.
More than 400 areas around the world have been identified as
experiencing eutrophication and 169 are hypoxic. + info
The NSF takes the lead
It has granted $0,9M for DEUS Collaborative Research, which aims to develop
a cyber interconnection scheme that enables data delivery from underwater
sensors to the surface station with autonomous underwater vehicles and
advanced magnetic-induction antenna design. +info
$400K to PFI project for enabling reliable wireless communications. It aims to
increasing information data rates by an order of magnitude over existing
technologies, and $400K to a FET-like research that will develop distributed electro-
mechanical transmitters for wireless communications in radio frequency denied
environments. It will lay the first theoretical groundwork for the precise control of
networked high-speed machines.
In the UK, Durham University and the National Oceanography Center have received
$656K to design and test a new generation of low-cost smart sensors, which return
data without expensive surface vessels; via pop-up floats and satellite links. +info
Not only around the communication principles and challenges in order to wirelessly
read out passive sensors at long distances (which is short-term research and a
industrial concern), from hundreds of meters to kilometers.
Special attention to zero-power sensors applied to Agriculture, where high energy
efficiency to passively monitor plants, water and crops are needed, particularly in
rural areas (off-grid). +info
Yahong Rosa Zheng, Electrical and Computer Engineering Prof.
at Lehigh University +info
Futuristic Scenarios
Underwater smartdust technology will transform underwater
sensor networks to allow
long term monitoring with
Researchers aim to build a submerged network of
interconnected sensors that send data to the surface — an
underwater ‘IoT’. +info
It is now very easy to get vast amounts of data from one side of an
ocean to another; but it is hard to get even modest amounts of data out
from the ocean itself. A new infrastructure is needed to enable sensors
at sea to transfer their data back to land.
GOAL: Billions of new devices are expected to come online, following
the “connect everything” mantra, to make our environments smarter and
more efficient. 5G and Battery technology make these devices rely on
power challenges that need to be overcome.
Lines involve sensors for RF-energy harvesting, micromechanical
photoswitches, acoustically powered underwater devices, opportunistic
energy scavenging, and other characteristics.
Zhenyun Qian, and Cristian Cassella in Northeastern
Univ, USA +info
+info Sangkil Kim, Pusan Univ, South Korea +info
Public Funding for Ocean Wiring and Sensing [1]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/OceanWiring
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/Linknovate_GrantsQCML
Top active organizations in the activity ranking are (surprisingly) companies, such as
Infinera, Seabed Geosolutions and OceanPowerTech, with patents and specialised
news appearance. Nonetheless the organisations attracting the most public funding
are Universities from the United States, the French CEA and the Norwegian NUST.
References have grown considerably over 2019 in zero power sensors
applied to agritech and smart farming.
Number of records in Zero Power Sensors [1]
Number of records in Zero-Power Battery [2]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/zeropower
[2] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/zeropowerbattery
[3] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/zeropowerbatterygrant
Excluding projects and grants in ultra low power sensor network (works range 2008-
2015), with projects like and SYNCSEN and DEMOSYNCSEN +info, and more
recently ULISSES (3,83M€, 2019, +info).
Arpa-E (2019): Zero-Power
Wireless Infrared Digitizing
Smart Farm ($1,63M).
Northeastern University will
develop a maintenance-free
and agricultural efficiency by
related plant characteristics,
control center in the irrigation
system. It will eliminate the cost of
battery replacement. + info
MIT’s Jarillo-Herrero team has turned graphene into a superconductor by
placing one sheet of graphene over another and rotating the other sheet to a
special orientation, a twist that changes the bilayer’s properties. +info
In EC funded TWISTM, the Free University of Berlin and Columbia University
will join to unravel the most fundamental properties of unexplored graphene-
and transition metal dichalcogenide-based bilayers arising from many-body
interactions. +info
The Imperial College has received a research grant from EPSRC to develop a
method to calculate phase diagrams of twisted bilayer materials as a function
of doping, temperature and twist angle. The aim is to guide experimental
efforts in the direction of the most promising candidate systems. +info
The face of promising research:
Mikhail Eremets, Prof. at the Max Planck Institute for
Chemistry +info
+info
Planck Institute +info.
Other promising research:
Sensing Technologies (BEST) group is targeting
the mega industries of video screens and health
devices with its new research, which has
managed to affordably “print” high-mobility
semiconductor nanowires onto flexible surfaces
to develop high-performance ultrathin electronic
layers. +info
superconductivity, above 0 degrees Celsius, would revolutionise
electrical efficiency, vastly improving power grids, high-speed data
transfer, and electrical motors, to name a few potential applications. Futuristic Scenarios
High-Temperature Superconductors could be used to
levitate trains and produce astonishing accelerations, also
in power plants, replacing conventional methods which
spin turbines in magnetic fields to generate electricity; and
in quantum computers as the two-level system required
for a “qubit,” in which the zeros and ones are replaced by
current flowing clockwise or counterclockwise in a
superconductor. +info
Superconductivity &
Twist Electronics When it comes to funding invested in the technology (both public
and private), the US takes the lead.
Number of records in Twisted electronics [1]
Public Funding awarded to Twisted Electronics since 2010 [1]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/twistedelectrons
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/HTSuperconductors
[3] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/twistelectronsuni
USA universities are the most active in the field, monopolizing 17 out of 20 positions
in the rankings. The remaining three are british organizations.
Most active universities in High-Temperature Superconductors [2]
Most active universities in Twisted Electronics [3]
Highlights: Public Funding
According to EC reports, Europe's position as a global leader in the
automotive market is being seriously challenged by the transition to electro-
mobility in which batteries are estimated to count for up to 40% of the value
of the car. The battery market is clearly strategic for Europe. It is an
industrial and economic opportunity, with the possible creation of 4-5 million
jobs. Today, it is dominated by Li-ion technology from Asia.
Batteries outlook for 2030 have sky-rocketed to $100B for Li-ion batteries alone,
and continuously being updated and corrected upwards. New approaches for
new more reliable, more durable batteries are a fertile land for disruptions. Self-
healing batteries belong to this land.
The face of promising research:
Dr. Donghee Son, Senior Research Scientist at
Korea Institute of Science and Technology +info
John W.F. To, from Stanford +info
Other promising research:
Prof. Y. Cui), Univ. Tokyo (Prof. Atsuo Yamada), UC
San Diego and in the industry: GM, Robert Bosch
GmbH and Tata Technologies.
physiological signals and displaying feedback
information through closed-loop communication
for next-gen wearables and IoT. Such devices need to
be ultrathin. Recently, self-healing chemistry has driven
important advances in deformable and reconfigurable
electronics, particularly with self-healable electrodes as
the key enabler. +info sources
GOAL: To develop ultra-performing, safe and sustainable
batteries which will be essential for electric vehicles and clean
mobility, renewable energy storage and a range of emerging
applications (including robotics, medical devices, aerospace and
many more).
Self-healing batteries
Funding activity mainly in US (peak of $12M in 2014) and UK in
2013 and 2017 (over $14M total at regional level) Grants at a
broader level, in “self-healing and self-repairing materials”, shows
bigger numbers, with EU in the mix.
Public Funding awarded in self-healing and self-healing batteries (grants) [1]
Evolution of Public Funding in self-healing batteries [1]
[1]Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/SelfHealingBatteries_grants
[2] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/SelfHealingBattery
be electrically activated to power artificial muscles
and also improve batteries, electronic devices
and robots, such as the team at UC Riverside.
+info
Northwestern University (Chicago area Universities), around Autonomic restoration
of electrical conductivity
aims to develop high-performance, bi-directional brain-machine
interfaces for able-bodied service members. +info
EC-funded HERMES project aims to drive self-repair of dysfunctional
brain circuits by intelligent biohybrids, made by the symbiotic integration
of bioengineered brain tissue, neuromorphic microelectronics and
artificial intelligence. +info
The NSF has granted $1M to the University of California at San Diego to
develop and leverage new human-computer interface technology as a
learning coach and personal cognitive development assistant that
facilitates learning to read and other critical skills in cognitive
development. +info
SIENNA Project focuses on ethical and human rights challenges posed
by human genomics, human enhancement and human-machine
interaction technologies such as robots and smart devices. +info
The face of promising research:
Davide Valeriani, researcher at Harvard
University +info
RWTH Aachen University. +info
human intelligence and cognitive capabilities.
Futuristic Scenarios
Identified (as a broader topic) as one of Gartner key trends of the
future, human augmentation (in a broad sense). Here we explore a
more specific line which is cognitive capabilities augmentation,
primarily by AI and other means (bionics, etc). Michael Nielsen
discusses long-term augmented memory could be chieved even with
simple
arm, one of the most active and prestigious
startup accelerators in the world and Shan
Carter from Google Brain group. +info
Amplification Hardware seems to be the subcategory inside Neuromorphic Computing and
Cognitive Intelligence that represent the biggest challenege could have a higher
impact. Besides it’s experiencing a bigger growth than the field in general.
Number of records in Cognitive Augmentation [1]
Public Funding awarded to Cognitive Augmentation since 2010 [1]
Top active organizations in Cognitive Augmentation [1]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://bit.ly/cognitiveaugm
Most active countries in Cognitive Augmentation [1]
Securboration has received the two phases of NSF’s SBIR program to develop a
cognitive augmentation environment.
As for DIARISSIMA Corp., they have patented an augmented intelligence system.
Highlighted: a new market reality
By 2021, consultant firm Frost & Sullivan expects that AI systems will generate
$6.7 billion in revenue from healthcare alone. One area that ML is significantly
evolving is genomics.
The MIT has received $3M from ARPA-E to develop a process to directly convert
methane into a usable transportation fuel in a single step. +info
Several organizations have received SME Instrument funding in bioinformatics
projects. Emedgene technologies, for instance, has developed an ICT platform
for clinical interpretation of genomic data. +info
EPSRC has granted £4M to Newcastle University to develop “synthetic
portabolomics”, a set of academically and industrially useful organisms where the
plug-in points for the genetic circuit will be the same for each of the organisms,
allowing the genetic circuit to be moved from one organism to another with
changes. +info
David Jones, Head of the Bioinformatics Group at
University College of London. +info
Andrea Sottoriva, director of the Centre for Evolution and
Cancer at the Institute of Cancer Research +info
Natalio Krasnogor, prof. of Computing Science and
Synthetic Biology at Newcastle Uni. +info
Allows for making decisions about care, what an organism
might be susceptible to in the future, what mutations might
cause different diseases and how to prepare for the future.
Bioinformatics will help advanced gene sequencing but also
gene editing.
treat genetic disorders. CRISPR research
led by Osaka University researcher
Yoshizumi Ishino (since 1987) +info
Futuristic Scenarios
Designer babies
Cells extracted from embryos would tell us the likelihood of
specific traits and disease states. We will be able to predict
how a potential child will be realized as a human being. +info
and AI in ‘Omics’ Activity in the topic has been steadily increasing over the
years. The trend is expected to peak in 2019.
Number of records in AI Bioinformatics [1]
Public Funding awarded to AI Bioinformatics since 2010 [1]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/AIBioinformatics
Mostly focused on applying machine learning technology to cancer treatment
research.
John’s Hopkins Uni. is exploring bioinformatics for skin cancer and melanoma and to
identify Mendelian disease genes.
Harvard also is one of the organizations with most published research in the area,
and is working on SNP genotyping, identifying lupus patients, and has created the
ProteinNET series of data sets to provide a standardized or training and assessing
data-driven models of protein sequence-structure relationships.
Most active organizations in AI Bioinformatics [1]
Alliance for Regenerative Medicine released a 'Statement of Principles' on
gene editing, as controversy continues to rumble on. Gene editing
businesses agree to stay away from heritable changes +info
The University of Glasgow has received £3.6M to engineer growth factors
microenvironments for regenerative medicine +info
During the last 12 months, the EU has largely fund (some over €6M) research
projects that explore regenerative medicine to treat conditions like diabetes
(EYELETS), brain damage (HERMES), chronic back pain (OSTEOproSPINE).
FET project RESTORE aims to implement newly developed Advanced Therapies
in clinical routine to improve patients outcome with high impact on Europe's
society and economy. +info
Tensive has received €2,7M from the EC to bring to the market
REGENERA, a mammary prosthesis for breast cancer patients that is
degraded over time and replaced by the patient's fat. +info
The face of promising research:
Manuel Salmeron-Sanchez, chair of Biomedical
Engineering at Glasgow University. +info
Núria Montserrat Pulido, Pluripotency for organ
regeneration Group Lead at the Institute of Bioeng. of
Catalonia. +info
at the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht. +info
There are substantially three approaches: cell-based therapy, use
of engineered scaffolds and the implantation of scaffolds seeded
with cells.
Mount Sinai (USA) and Rui Reis in Univ.
Minho (Portugal).
cell therapy, and tissue engineering. In recent years, regenerative
advanced therapies research has increased under CRISPR/Cas9
advancements.
Number of records in Advanced Therapies for Regenerative Medicine [2]
When looking at the aggregated set of data Linknovate has collected for
regenerative medicine, academia makes up for 75% of all active organizations since
2010, while corporations represent less than 6%. However, 4 out of 10 of the most
active organizations are big pharma companies, which are collaborating with Unis.
and SMEs in academic research and innovation grants.
Harvard is the leading university in regenerative medicine, mostly in tissue
engineering.
Novartis explores gene delivery to study stem cells for regenerative medicine
purposes.
aging by regulating senescent cells. The most promising ones are rapamycin,
metformin, and nutraceuticals and NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide).
Cellular Senescence is also targeted at cancer therapy, with approximately half of
research grants awarded to this aim.
The Netherlands Cancer Institute has received €2,8M from the EC to develop a
senescence therapy for cancer. First inducing senescence in cancer cells and
then killing those senescence cells. +info
The National Institutes of Health has also largely funded this research topic. It
stands out a $2,8M project awarded to Mayo Clinic that targets cellular
senescence to extend lifespan. +info
As for UK’s innovation grants, the University of Cambridge has received
£875.000 to explore if senescent cells are decisive in lung cancer initiation. +info
The face of promising research:
David Sinclair, co-director of the Paul F. Glenn
Center for the Biology of Aging, Harvard Medical
School. +info
Institute for Biology of Ageing +info
Pekka Katajisto, biotechnology group leader at
Uni. of Helsinki. +info
Senescent cells appear to be one of the root causes of aging. They
secrete a mix of molecules that triggers chronic inflammation,
damages the surrounding tissue structures, and changes the
behavior of nearby cells for the worse.
Futuristic Scenarios
Senolytics: how a new pill could spell the end of ageing
An emerging – and highly anticipated – area of anti-ageing
medicine. If the studies continue to be as successful as hoped,
those who are currently middle-aged could become the first
generation of oldies who are youthful for longer. +info
Other promising research:
Cambridge+info
(NL), and Nathan LeBrasseur, Mayo Clinic
Cellular Senescence
& Life Extension Subtopics Senolytics and Metformin are the ones growing the most in
importance.
Number of records in Metformin research for Cellular Senescence [2]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/senolytics
[2] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/cellularsenescence
[3] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/orgcellularsenescence
Top Organizations in Cellular Senescence [3]
Cellular Senescence activity is mostly academic (unis. and research centers make
up for 91% of all organizations working on the topic). Only one company,
Bioventures makes it to the top ten. They have four patent applications for targeting
and selectively depleting senescent cells.
Drug Discovery
Open Targets, launched in 2014, is a public-private partnership between EMBL’s
European Bioinformatics Institute, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, GSK, Biogen,
Takeda, Celgene and Sanofi. The aim is to transform drug discovery through the
systematic identification and prioritization of targets. +info
The EC has largely funded research in AI drug discovery. During 2019 two projects
stand out. MELLODY will demonstrate how the pharmaceutical industry can better
leverage its data assets to virtualize the Drug Discovery process with ML. And
LifeTime under FET Flagships, will develop technologies to redefine diagnosis and
pathology, and set new standards for mechanism-based drug discovery and disease
management for the 21st century.
Also in the UK, Benevolent AI is a UK-based AI company with pharmaceutical
discovery and clinical development capabilities. Have developed a ML-platform for
hypothesis generation and validation of drug discovery. Awarded Tech Pioneer by
WEF.
Drug Manufacture
The Univ. of Strathclyde has received a GTR grant to develop novel ML approaches
to learn from manufacturing data and create new knowledge that aids in crucial drug
manufacturing decisions. +info
Ian Dunham, Open Targets director. +info
Blair Johnston, researcher at Uni. of Strathclyde
+info
their drug development programs because of increased R&D
costs and reduced efficiency. Artificial Intelligence has shown
promising for boosting drug discovery, and robot automation
for drug manufacture.
Other promising research:
to rapidly manufacture biopharmaceuticals
investing in automation with the hope of transforming drug
discovery from an enterprise where humans do manual
experiments to one where robots handle thousands of
samples around the clock. +info
Source: Proclinical
Drug Discovery &
Manufacture using AI While big pharmas focus on drug discovery, SMEs have
found an opportunity in optimizing drug manufacture
Number of records in AI and ML for Drug Discovery [1]
Number of records in AI and ML for Drug Manufacture [2]
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/AIMLDrugdiscovery
[2] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/AIMLDrugmanufacture
Top Organizations applying AI and ML for Drug Manufacture [2]
Top Organizations applying AI and ML for Drug Discover [1]
AI and ML algorithms can improve the efficiency of the drug development process.
In this sense, we observe collaborations of pharmaceutical industry giants with AI-
powered firms.
IBM has 23 related patent applications since 2010 for drug discovery. Among the
most interesting ones there is a method for predicting relevant drug targets and
mechanisms for adverse drugs reactions.
Regarding AI and ML-aided drug manufacture, Novartis is applying high throughput
screening techniques.
NSF-funded RE-BIONICS aims to create biolectronic devices hat will mediate the
rapid and facile information exchange between biology and electronics. +info
In the UK, the Uni. of Nottingham has received a GTR grant to develop new
electrochemical based wireless technology, which may avoid invasive surgery and
will be applied to treating non-neuronal based diseases such as cancer. +info
EC -funded projects:
• Natural BionicS aims at creating a fully integrated, symbiotic replacement of
human limbs with robotic parts that the user will feel and command as part of the
body via spinal interfacing. +info
• BIONIC has the objective of developing body sensor networks and a platform for
real-time risk alerting and continuous coaching of ageing workers, in all types of
working and living environments. +info
• BionicVEST’s FETOpen project will develop a bionics vestibular implant for
bilateral vestibular dysfunction. +info
Hugh Herr, Biomechatronics group leader at the MIT Media
Lab. +info
Rehabilitation Technology at Uni. of Twente. +info
Biologically-inspired robots have greater mobility and
flexibility than traditional robots and often possess sensory
abilities. Are often utilized to provide assistance to
accommodate a deficiency, either as fully-functioning robots
or highly advanced prosthetics
embedded in our lives, Human-Robot
Interaction & Coordination (HRI&C) has
emerged as a sub-discipline that focuses
on the behavior and place of robots in
society. +info
Futuristic Scenarios
By 2030, humans will be regularly going into body shops
for bionic ‘upgrades’. +info
[1] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/bionics
[2] Source Linknovate: http://tiny.cc/orgbionics
Top Organizations in Bionics [2]
It stands out that the most active organizations working on bionics are companies
rather than academic institutions.
Ekso Bionics has a patent application for a verification (or enablement) routine in an
exoskeleton bionic device.
Microsoft’s activity in the topic is related to its applications in quantum computing,
and is collaborating with the University of California Santa Barbara in that regard.
Biomimetics subtrend
robot that is able to do a